21-May-2015, 16:27
(This post was last modified: 21-May-2015, 16:28 by GuillaumeB.)
(21-May-2015, 16:17)Beajuju Wrote: Like some, I have problems with Air. I think bying the Aries because or its price and functionnality. However, I would not buy if the sound quality is not as good as Air. So, Aries or Air? I have an Audioquest USB Diamond.
In my (very humble) opinion it is not as good as AIR, having said that I base my opinion on tests I carried out last year and it's very possible the SQ has improved with firmware updates.
If I were looking at a DAC-less streamer (to replace AIR) I would also consider the 3DLabs NANO Transport which is roughly the same price. I haven't tested this one myself but I have heard many good things about it, mainly on the French forums.
Also in the same price range you have the Melco N1A which is also a transport. In my tests it was considerably better than AIR and on a par with my totaldac d1 server which of course is much more expensive.
All 3 devices (Aries, NANO and N1A) will require a UPnP control point which will also give you access to streaming services depending on the app you choose.
Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research
220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD
UK